Super Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms in recorded history, has affected over 4 million people and is estimated to have killed more than 10,000, according to officials in the Philippines. Some coastal cities, including Tacloban whose population is about 220,000, were almost completely flattened, which means that aid efforts around the country remain severely hindered.

As the death toll continues to rise in the aftermath of the powerful typhoon that swept through the Philippines last week, Southern California’s local Filipino community has been mobilizing to assist in relief efforts. A 5K Charity Walk was held in Van Nuys early Sunday to help raise funds for victims of Typhoon Haiyan, officials said. The walk was originally planned to help victims of a 7.1 earthquake that rocked the region last month, said Jovena “Bing” De La Vega, a chief organizer of the event.

Less than a month after Egypt publicly condemned an American decision to suspend portions of its annual military aid package, relations between the allies are back on track. Egypt’s foreign ministry announced Wednesday that Cairo now expects an “intense period” of diplomatic visits from Washington. Despite the public frostiness that hung over the alliance just a few weeks ago, analysts say the relationship below the rhetoric remains strong.

The international rules that define what spending rich countries can count as foreign aid – and which developing countries are eligible to receive aid – are up for grabs for the first time in decades, with potential faultlines being drawn over whether donors should be able spend more aid money on support for private companies overseas.

The war in Afghanistan is transitioning to its endgame. But the drawdown hasn’t stopped the billions in U.S. aid flowing into the country, and after 12 years of spending on this scale, we’re still losing money—hundreds of millions unaccounted for—almost as fast as we can write the next check. The spotty oversight of U.S. aid to Afghan forces is now set to get even worse as the main auditing group is in the country is about to have its presence dramatically reduced.

The United States has quietly restarted security assistance to Pakistan, U.S. officials said on Sunday, after freezing much of that aid during a period of strained relations beginning with the 2011 Navy SEAL raid that killed al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. While the move to free up the aid has been underway for some months, it became public as President Barack Obama prepares for a White House meeting on Wednesday with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Ottawa has dismantled a key task force aimed at supporting the peace process in Sudan at a time of renewed fighting in Darfur, raising questions about Canada’s commitment to aid and diplomacy in the conflict-torn region.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that Washington's will consider resuming military aid to Egypt "on the basis of performance" that encourages democracy through elections. The US suspended some of its $1.5bn in annual military aid on Wednesday, but Kerry said on Thursday the deliveries could resume if Cairo moves to restore civilian rule.